Sept. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Global investors are souring on
President Barack Obama while still expecting him to be re-elected in November.

By a margin of 46 percent to 39 percent, investors say
Obama’s re-election would be bad for U.S. financial markets,
according to a quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll conducted on Sept.
4. That represents a sharp reversal of opinion from May, when
investors backed Obama 48 percent to 36 percent.

“Anything that gets rid of Mr. Obama will be a positive
for the economy,” Neil Grossman, 55, managing partner and chief
investment officer at TKNG Capital Partners in St. Petersburg,
Florida, said in a follow-up interview.

Obama does better on the global economy. While investors
back Republican Mitt Romney for his economic vision for the U.S.,
they prefer Obama to manage the global economy by 44 percent to
42 percent, according to the 847 Bloomberg customers, who are
investors, analysts or traders. They support Obama’s plan to end
the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans,
while saying Romney is more likely to produce a durable solution
to the U.S.’s long-run fiscal woes.

More global investors report a favorable view of the
president than unfavorable, by a 50 percent to 45 percent margin.

“President Obama’s re-election would be good for the U.S.
economy and markets,” said Henry Sandberg, 27, a research
analyst at Tiverton Trading in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Better Vision

As the campaign heads into its final two months, Romney, a
wealthy veteran of the private-equity industry, is drawing
increased support from financial professionals. Asked which
candidate has laid out a better vision for the U.S., 42 percent
choose Romney and 40 percent select Obama. In May, Obama enjoyed
an 11-percentage-point edge on the same question.

“Governor Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital will give him
the needed background to make the U.S. a much more business-friendly environment, and that in turn will help the economy
grow at a faster clip,” said Matt Kennedy, 34, senior financial
associate, at Oppenheimer & Co. in Atlanta.

Opinions of the two candidates are significantly different
among U.S.-based investors and those abroad. Only 18 percent of
U.S. investors surveyed think Obama’s re-election would be good
for U.S. markets. The president’s vision for the economy is
endorsed by greater numbers outside his home turf, with 51
percent of non-U.S. respondents approving.

Romney as Dealmaker

Forty-eight percent of global investors say Romney’s
election would be a good thing for U.S. markets compared with 30
percent who said it would be bad.

Global investors also say a Romney presidency would be more
likely to produce a sweeping tax-and-spending deal to address
the U.S. government budget deficit. Though Republicans insist
they won’t agree to raise taxes, 53 percent of investors say a
package deal would be more likely if Romney wins; just 30
percent say Obama could produce such a “grand bargain.”

Even with their distaste for Obama’s economic policies,
investors by a 64 percent to 28 percent margin anticipate his
re-election, according to the survey. The poll’s respondents
tilt to the political right, with 79 percent describing
themselves as centrist or conservative; 96 percent are male.

Investors also endorse Obama’s plan to end the Bush tax
cuts for the highest-earning Americans while stepping up
spending on infrastructure, education and innovative energy
programs. Obama’s plan will “increase spending and aggregate
demand overall,” says Sandberg.

Favorable on Romney

Romney enjoys a 46 percent to 42 percent favorable-to-unfavorable split, an improvement from May when he was rated
negatively by 46 percent to 40 percent.

Asked about the impact of Obama’s policies on the
investment climate, 55 percent say they are pessimistic versus
40 percent optimistic. In May, investors split evenly on the
same question.

“We need to be cutting taxes across the board to generate
some consumer spending,” said Richard Marling, a broker with
Martin Brokers in London. “Over the past four years, the U.S.
appears to be going down the European route, i.e. becoming more
socialist.”

Investors report little faith in Democrats or Republicans
in Congress and say the negative tone of the presidential
campaign will have lingering effects.

Sour on Parties

Neither congressional party reaches 30 percent favorable
ratings from investors. And 73 percent of investors say that
months of trading insults on the campaign trail will make it
harder for the U.S. to tackle its financial problems. Just 12
percent say the campaign bruises will heal quickly.

“Regardless of who wins, the two parties need to work
together to form a realistic bipartisan budget that puts the U.S.
economy back on a sustainable debt path,” said Tom Lawson, an
economic analyst with Asia-Pacific Risk Management in Wellington,
New Zealand. “From what I’ve seen in the past few years, this
is going to be a struggle for either candidate.”

Investors are lukewarm on Romney’s economic plan providing
for across-the-board tax cuts, higher defense spending and
entitlement-program changes. Thirty-nine percent of respondents
say the Romney plan would strengthen the U.S. economy, while 37
percent say it would weaken it.

They also have little faith Romney will keep one of his
central campaign promises. By a margin of 82 percent to 11
percent, they say they are skeptical that Romney will fulfill
pledges to crack down on Chinese trade practices by designating
China a currency manipulator and imposing countervailing duties
on imports from that country.

Uncertain on Iran

“There is considerably more uncertainty with a Romney
election,” said Timothy Ball, managing director at Stormharbour
Securities in New York, who stressed that he was speaking for
himself and not his firm. “His policy could be either
contractionary or stimulative; it is very hard to say which
outcome you will get.”

Investors also doubt a signature Obama promise, to prevent
Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Only 26 percent of
respondents are confident the president will do that compared
with 65 percent who doubt it.

The poll also reflects an erosion in investor assessments
of the U.S. economy, with 22 percent saying the economy was
deteriorating compared with 18 percent who said that in May.
Thirty-four percent say the economy is improving, down from 43
percent in the last survey, and 44 described conditions as
stable.

The Bloomberg Global Poll was conducted by Selzer & Co., a
Des Moines, Iowa-based firm. The poll has a margin of error of
plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.